7 Case Law Update The United States Supreme Court Title VII. Developments in the Ninth Circuit. Developments in Washington State. 7

8 Supreme Court (Divided) focus on Title VII

9 Vance V. Ball State University 5-4 Decision. Vicarious liability under Title VII for a supervisor s conduct. Q: What is a supervisor? A: Someone who can take a tangible employment action against another. Q: What is a tangible employment action? A: A significant change in employment status. e.g. hiring, firing, failing to promote, reassignment with significantly different responsibilities, or a decision causing a significant change in benefits. 9

10 University of Texas Southwestern 5-4 Decision. Medical Center v. Nassar Title VII s discrimination standard motivating factor. Title VII s retaliation standard but-for causation. Based, in part, on Congress s inclusion of the motivating factor language in a Title VII subsection that only applies to discrimination claims. Invitation to Congress to amend Title VII? 10

11 United States v. Windsor Held: Defense of Marriage Act ( DOMA ) definitions of marriage and spouse as excluding same-sex partners is unconstitutional. DOMA violates basic due process and equal protection principles applicable to the Federal Government by the Fifth Amendment. Very strong signal against LGBT discrimination. 11

12 Coming Soon Madigan v. Levin Issue: Are federal age discrimination claims against the state limited to the ADEA, or can they proceed under Section 1983? Seventh Circuit: ADEA does not preclude 1983 claims. Split with District of Columbia, First, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Tenth Circuits. Lawson v. FMR, LLC Sarbanes-Oxley prohibits retaliation against publiclytraded company employees for engaging in protected activity. Issue: does SOX s anti-retaliation provision apply to private contractors of a publicly traded company? Split between the First Circuit and the DOL. 12

13 Ninth Circuit Developments Adventures in Bankruptcy. Statistics can be helpful or not Questions regarding the constitutionality of a controversial WLAD provision. 13

14 Schechner v. KPIX-TV (Ninth Circuit) Statistics showing a stark pattern of discrimination can establish a plaintiff s prima facie case even if the statistics do not account for the employer s legitimate, non-discriminatory explanation. Reminder: showing pretext is harder than showing a prima facie case of discrimination. Same actor inference applies to promotions and signing new contracts. 14

16 Day v. AT&T Disability Income Plan (Ninth Circuit) ADEA s 40 year-old requirement is not jurisdictional. Offsetting an employee s long-term disability payments by the amount the employee removed from his pension plan did not violate the ADEA. Offset was not coercive because employee s action was voluntary. 16

17 Ockletree v. Franciscan Health System Certified: (W.D. Wash.) Does the WLAD s exclusion of religious non-profit organizations from the definition of employer violate the Washington Constitution? If not, is the religious exemption unconstitutional as applied to claims wholly unrelated to any religious purpose, practice, or activity? 17

18 Ockletree v. Franciscan Health System (W.D. Wash.) Timeliness of EEOC charge: Plaintiff s assertion that an intake questionnaire (not a charge of discrimination form) was timely filed sufficient to grant the court subject matter jurisdiction even though the EEOC had no record of receiving such a questionnaire, and other evidence suggests no such questionnaire was received. A handbook s limited EEO policy insufficient to foreclose statutory exceptions to discrimination claims. 18

23 Lodis v. Corbis Holdings, Inc. (Court of Appeals) Q: Must an employee s conduct step outside his or her job duties to engage in statutorily protected activity? A: Maybe under FLSA, but not under the WLAD. Q: Does the same actor inference apply when the plaintiff was just promoted? A: Not for WLAD retaliation claims. Plus, pleading garden variety emotional distress waives the patient privilege. 23

27 Criminal Background Check Ordinance What Does it Do? Criminal background inquiries must wait until after initial screening. No employment decisions based on arrest records. No employment decisions based on criminal history at all unless there is a legitimate business reason. Before making adverse employment decision, must: give applicant notice and time to respond; and hold position open. Applies to all employers with positions that spend 50% or more of their time in Seattle. 27

28 Criminal Background Check Ordinance What Does it Not Do? Certain positions exempt from new law: Criminal justice-related positions; and Access to vulnerable persons. State and federal laws control. No private right of action. 28

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